Endgame · advanced

The Bishop Pair

Two bishops side by side form a wall the enemy king can't cross. Drive it into a corner and mate.

touch_appPlay it out against Stockfish. You have 40 moves; a move that throws the win away is caught and explained.

The task

Two bishops side by side form a wall the enemy king can't cross. Drive it into a corner and mate.

Checkmate
Goal
White
You play
40 moves
Move limit

Technique

  1. 1Bishops on neighboring diagonals (e.g. d3 + e3) make an impassable wall.
  2. 2The king must help. Bring it close and take the opposition.
  3. 3Mate happens in a corner, but beware stalemate when the king has one square left.

How the pieces work together

One bishop covers light squares, the other dark squares, so together they control every color.

If you get stuck

Place the bishops on adjacent diagonals to build a wall, and bring your king up.